9 research outputs found
Association between diet-quality scores, adiposity, total cholesterol and markers of nutritional status in European adults: findings from the Food4Me study
Diet-quality scores (DQS), which are developed across the globe, are used to define adherence to specific eating patterns and have been associated with risk of coronary heart disease and type-II diabetes. We explored the association between five diet-quality scores (Healthy Eating Index, HEI; Alternate Healthy Eating Index, AHEI; MedDietScore, MDS; PREDIMED Mediterranean Diet Score, P-MDS; Dutch Healthy Diet-Index, DHDI) and markers of metabolic health (anthropometry, objective physical activity levels (PAL), and dried blood spot total cholesterol (TC), total carotenoids, and omega-3 index) in the Food4Me cohort, using regression analysis. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Participants (n = 1480) were adults recruited from seven European Union (EU) countries. Overall, women had higher HEI and AHEI than men (p < 0.05), and scores varied significantly between countries. For all DQS, higher scores were associated with lower body mass index, lower waist-to-height ratio and waist circumference, and higher total carotenoids and omega-3-index (p trends < 0.05). Higher HEI, AHEI, DHDI, and P-MDS scores were associated with increased daily PAL, moderate and vigorous activity, and reduced sedentary behaviour (p trend < 0.05). We observed no association between DQS and TC. To conclude, higher DQS, which reflect better dietary patterns, were associated with markers of better nutritional status and metabolic health
Proposed guidelines to evaluate scientific validity and evidence for genotype-based dietary advice
Nutrigenetic research examines the effects of inter-individual differences in genotype on responses to nutrients and other food components, in the context of health and of nutrient requirements. A practical application of nutrigenetics is the use of personal genetic information to guide recommendations for dietary choices that are more efficacious at the individual or genetic subgroup level relative to generic dietary advice. Nutrigenetics is unregulated, with no defined standards, beyond some commercially adopted codes of practice. Only a few official nutrition-related professional bodies have embraced the subject, and, consequently, there is a lack of educational resources or guidance for implementation of the outcomes of nutrigenetic research. To avoid misuse and to protect the public, personalised nutrigenetic advice and information should be based on clear evidence of validity grounded in a careful and defensible interpretation of outcomes from nutrigenetic research studies. Evidence requirements are clearly stated and assessed within the context of state-of-the-art ‘evidence-based nutrition’. We have developed and present here a draft framework that can be used to assess the strength of the evidence for scientific validity of nutrigenetic knowledge and whether ‘actionable’. In addition, we propose that this framework be used as the basis for developing transparent and scientifically sound advice to the public based on nutrigenetic tests. We feel that although this area is still in its infancy, minimal guidelines are required. Though these guidelines are based on semiquantitative
data, they should stimulate debate on their utility. This framework will be revised biennially, as knowledge on
the subject increases
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Profile of European adults interested in internet-based personalized nutrition: The Food4Me Study
Purpose
Personalised intervention may have greater potential for reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases and for promoting better health and wellbeing across the life-span than the conventional “one size fits all” approach. However, the characteristics of individuals interested in personalised nutrition (PN) are unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of European adults interested in taking part in an internet-based PN study.
Methods
Individuals from seven European countries (UK, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece and Poland) were invited to participate in the study via the Food4Me website (http://www.food4me.org). Two screening questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic, anthropometric and health characteristics as well as dietary intakes.
Results
A total of 5662 individuals expressed an interest in the study (mean age 40 ± 12.7; range 15-87 years). Of these 64.6% were female and 96.9% were Caucasian. Overall, 12.9% were smokers and 46.8% reported the presence of a clinically diagnosed disease. Furthermore, 46.9% were overweight or obese and 34.9% were sedentary during leisure time. Assessment of dietary intakes showed that 54.3% of individuals reported consuming at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, 45.9% consumed more than 3 servings of wholegrains and 37.2% limited their salt intake to less than 5.75g per day.
Conclusions
Our data indicate that individuals volunteering to participate in an internet-based PN study are broadly representative of the European adult population, most of whom had adequate nutrient intakes but who could benefit from improved dietary choices and greater physical activity. Future use of internet-based PN approaches is thus relevant to a wide target audience
Objectively measured physical activity in european adults: cross-sectional findings from the Food4Me study
Introduction
Physical inactivity has been estimated to be responsible for more than 5.3 million deaths worldwide
[1]. Moreover, among European men and women, approximately 7.3% of all deaths in
2008 might be attributable to inactivity compared with 3.7% to obesity [2] and there is strong
evidence to suggest that even small increases in physical activity (PA) would lower the risk for
many non-communicable diseases [1–3]. Yet, levels of PA across populations remain low [4].
To tackle this public health issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
American College of Sports Medicine produced standardized PA guidelines 20 years ago [5].
Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union, and most countries
around the world, have included PA guidelines in their health policies. Guidelines for Americans
and Europeans have been updated to include recommendations for adolescents and for
older adults [6–9]. For adults aged 18–64 years old, the WHO recommends a minimum of 150
min of moderate intensity PA per week, 75 min of vigorous intensity PA or an equivalent
amount of moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA) [9].
In 2008, 34.8% of adults 15 years or older were insufficiently active in Europe [4]. Regular
surveillance is needed to update these prevalence estimates and to evaluate the effectiveness of
PA policies and promotion programs in European countries. In this context, the objective
assessment of PA is a key issue. Prevalence of physical inactivity has been mainly derived from
self-reported measures such as the Baecke questionnaire [10] or the International Physical
Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) [11]. These questionnaires have been, and still are, widely used
due to their simple administration and low cost [12]. However, PA is frequently misreported,
which leads to considerable measurement error [13–15]. Accelerometers offer a potential solution
because they measure PA objectively. Given that they are small and easy to wear, store
data up to several weeks and are acceptable in terms of reliability, these devices are now used
increasingly in large studies to assess PA in children, adolescents and adults [16]. Although
some European countries have reported adherence to PA guidelines using accelerometers in
large cohorts [17–19], comparisons between European countries measured according to the
same standardized protocols and concurrently are lacking.
Between 2012 and 2014, PA was assessed objectively by accelerometry in the participants of
the Food4Me Proof-of-Principle (PoP) study. The Food4Me Study was a web-based randomized
controlled trial on personalized nutrition, across seven European countries: Germany,
Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The aim of the current
paper is to describe and compare PA in adults from these countries, and evaluate adherence
to PA guidelines, using baseline data from the Food4Me PoP study
Objectively measured physical activity in european adults: cross-sectional findings from the Food4Me study
Introduction
Physical inactivity has been estimated to be responsible for more than 5.3 million deaths worldwide
[1]. Moreover, among European men and women, approximately 7.3% of all deaths in
2008 might be attributable to inactivity compared with 3.7% to obesity [2] and there is strong
evidence to suggest that even small increases in physical activity (PA) would lower the risk for
many non-communicable diseases [1–3]. Yet, levels of PA across populations remain low [4].
To tackle this public health issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
American College of Sports Medicine produced standardized PA guidelines 20 years ago [5].
Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union, and most countries
around the world, have included PA guidelines in their health policies. Guidelines for Americans
and Europeans have been updated to include recommendations for adolescents and for
older adults [6–9]. For adults aged 18–64 years old, the WHO recommends a minimum of 150
min of moderate intensity PA per week, 75 min of vigorous intensity PA or an equivalent
amount of moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA) [9].
In 2008, 34.8% of adults 15 years or older were insufficiently active in Europe [4]. Regular
surveillance is needed to update these prevalence estimates and to evaluate the effectiveness of
PA policies and promotion programs in European countries. In this context, the objective
assessment of PA is a key issue. Prevalence of physical inactivity has been mainly derived from
self-reported measures such as the Baecke questionnaire [10] or the International Physical
Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) [11]. These questionnaires have been, and still are, widely used
due to their simple administration and low cost [12]. However, PA is frequently misreported,
which leads to considerable measurement error [13–15]. Accelerometers offer a potential solution
because they measure PA objectively. Given that they are small and easy to wear, store
data up to several weeks and are acceptable in terms of reliability, these devices are now used
increasingly in large studies to assess PA in children, adolescents and adults [16]. Although
some European countries have reported adherence to PA guidelines using accelerometers in
large cohorts [17–19], comparisons between European countries measured according to the
same standardized protocols and concurrently are lacking.
Between 2012 and 2014, PA was assessed objectively by accelerometry in the participants of
the Food4Me Proof-of-Principle (PoP) study. The Food4Me Study was a web-based randomized
controlled trial on personalized nutrition, across seven European countries: Germany,
Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The aim of the current
paper is to describe and compare PA in adults from these countries, and evaluate adherence
to PA guidelines, using baseline data from the Food4Me PoP study
Association between diet-quality scores, adiposity, total cholesterol and markers of nutritional status in European adults: findings from the Food4Me study
Diet-quality scores (DQS), which are developed across the globe, are used to define adherence to specific eating patterns and have been associated with risk of coronary heart disease and type-II diabetes. We explored the association between five diet-quality scores (Healthy Eating Index, HEI; Alternate Healthy Eating Index, AHEI; MedDietScore, MDS; PREDIMED Mediterranean Diet Score, P-MDS; Dutch Healthy Diet-Index, DHDI) and markers of metabolic health (anthropometry, objective physical activity levels (PAL), and dried blood spot total cholesterol (TC), total carotenoids, and omega-3 index) in the Food4Me cohort, using regression analysis. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Participants (n = 1480) were adults recruited from seven European Union (EU) countries. Overall, women had higher HEI and AHEI than men (p < 0.05), and scores varied significantly between countries. For all DQS, higher scores were associated with lower body mass index, lower waist-to-height ratio and waist circumference, and higher total carotenoids and omega-3-index (p trends < 0.05). Higher HEI, AHEI, DHDI, and P-MDS scores were associated with increased daily PAL, moderate and vigorous activity, and reduced sedentary behaviour (p trend < 0.05). We observed no association between DQS and TC. To conclude, higher DQS, which reflect better dietary patterns, were associated with markers of better nutritional status and metabolic health
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Metabotyping for the development of tailored dietary advice solutions in a European population: the Food4Me study
Traditionally, personalised nutrition was delivered at an individual level. However, the concept of delivering tailored dietary advice at a group level through the identification of metabotypes or groups of metabolically similar individuals has emerged. Although this approach to personalised nutrition looks promising, further work is needed to examine this concept across a wider population group. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to: (1) identify metabotypes in a European population and (2) develop targeted dietary advice solutions for these metabotypes. Using data from the Food4Me study (n 1607), k-means cluster analysis revealed the presence of three metabolically distinct clusters based on twenty-seven metabolic markers including cholesterol, individual fatty acids and carotenoids. Cluster 2 was identified as a metabolically healthy metabotype as these individuals had the highest Omega-3 Index (6·56 (sd 1·29) %), carotenoids (2·15 (sd 0·71) µm) and lowest total saturated fat levels. On the basis of its fatty acid profile, cluster 1 was characterised as a metabolically unhealthy cluster. Targeted dietary advice solutions were developed per cluster using a decision tree approach. Testing of the approach was performed by comparison with the personalised dietary advice, delivered by nutritionists to Food4Me study participants (n 180). Excellent agreement was observed between the targeted and individualised approaches with an average match of 82 % at the level of delivery of the same dietary message. Future work should ascertain whether this proposed method could be utilised in a healthcare setting, for the rapid and efficient delivery of tailored dietary advice solutions
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Design and baseline characteristics of the Food4Me study: a web-based randomised controlled trial of personalised nutrition in seven European countries
Improving lifestyle behaviours has considerable potential for reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases, promoting better health across the life-course and increasing well-being. However, realising this potential will require the development, testing and implementation of much more effective behaviour change interventions than are used conventionally. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a multi-centre, web-based, proof-of-principle study of personalised nutrition (PN) to determine whether providing more personalised dietary advice leads to greater improvements in eating patterns and health outcomes compared to conventional population-based advice. A total of 5,562 volunteers were screened across seven European countries; the first 1,607 participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recruited into the trial. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following intervention groups for a 6-month period: Level 0-control group-receiving conventional, non-PN advice; Level 1-receiving PN advice based on dietary intake data alone; Level 2-receiving PN advice based on dietary intake and phenotypic data; and Level 3-receiving PN advice based on dietary intake, phenotypic and genotypic data. A total of 1,607 participants had a mean age of 39.8 years (ranging from 18 to 79 years). Of these participants, 60.9 % were women and 96.7 % were from white-European background. The mean BMI for all randomised participants was 25.5 kg m(-2), and 44.8 % of the participants had a BMI ≥ 25.0 kg m(-2). Food4Me is the first large multi-centre RCT of web-based PN. The main outcomes from the Food4Me study will be submitted for publication during 2015
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Associations of vitamin D status with dietary intakes and physical activity levels among adults from seven European countries: the Food4Me study
To report the vitamin D status in adults from seven European countries and to identify behavioural correlates. In total, 1075 eligible adult men and women from Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, UK, Poland and Germany, were included in the study. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, defined as 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (25-OHD3) concentration of <30 and 30-49.9 nmol/L, respectively, were observed in 3.3 and 30.6% of the participants. The highest prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was found in the UK and the lowest in the Netherlands (8.2 vs. 1.1%, P < 0.05). In addition, the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was higher in females compared with males (36.6 vs. 22.6%, P < 0.001), in winter compared with summer months (39.3 vs. 25.0%, P < 0.05) and in younger compared with older participants (36.0 vs. 24.4%, P < 0.05). Positive dose-response associations were also observed between 25-OHD3 concentrations and dietary vitamin D intake from foods and supplements, as well as with physical activity (PA) levels. Vitamin D intakes of ≥5 μg/day from foods and ≥5 μg/day from supplements, as well as engagement in ≥30 min/day of moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA were associated with higher odds (P < 0.05) for maintaining sufficient (≥50 nmol/L) 25-OHD3 concentrations. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency varied considerably among European adults. Dietary intakes of ≥10 μg/day of vitamin D from foods and/or supplements and at least 30 min/day of moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA were the minimum thresholds associated with vitamin D sufficiency